Department of Physiotherapy, University School of Physical Education, Królowej Jadwigi str. 27/39, 61871 Poznań, Poland.
Rheumatol Int. 2013 Aug;33(8):2053-60. doi: 10.1007/s00296-013-2692-5. Epub 2013 Feb 10.
Cryotherapies are frequently used to supplement the rehabilitation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) owing to their analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Forty patients with active RA were recruited and received 10 days of comprehensive therapy with different local cryotherapies. None of the respondents were subjected to biological treatment. They were divided into two groups according to the therapy received: nitrogen vapour at -160 °C (group I) or cold airflow at -30 °C (group II). Levels of tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), disease activity score (DAS28), and functional variables were used to assess the outcomes. After the therapy, both groups exhibited similar improvements. Significant reduction in TNF-α level (nitrogen: p < 0.01; cold air: p < 0.05) and no change in IL-6 were observed. DAS28, the clinical severity of pain, duration of morning stiffness, degree of self-reported fatigue, and health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) scores improved significantly. In addition, the active range of knee extension, time, and the number of steps in the 50-m walk test also clearly got better in both groups. The 10-day comprehensive therapies including different local cryotherapies for the patients with RA cause significant decrease in TNF-α systemic levels, meaningly improve DAS28, HAQ scores, and some functional parameters, but do not change IL-6 levels. However, there were no differences in the effectiveness of either cryotherapy.
冷冻疗法常被用于补充类风湿关节炎(RA)患者的康复治疗,因其具有镇痛和抗炎作用。本研究招募了 40 名活动期 RA 患者,接受了为期 10 天的综合治疗,包括不同的局部冷冻疗法。所有患者均未接受生物治疗。根据接受的治疗方法将他们分为两组:-160°C 氮蒸气(I 组)或-30°C 冷空气(II 组)。采用肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、白细胞介素 6(IL-6)、疾病活动评分(DAS28)和功能变量来评估疗效。治疗后,两组均表现出相似的改善。TNF-α 水平显著降低(氮组:p < 0.01;冷空气组:p < 0.05),而 IL-6 无变化。DAS28、疼痛临床严重程度、晨僵持续时间、自我报告的疲劳程度和健康评估问卷(HAQ)评分均显著改善。此外,两组患者的膝关节伸展活动度、时间和 50 米步行试验的步数也明显改善。包括不同局部冷冻疗法的 10 天综合治疗可显著降低 RA 患者的 TNF-α 全身水平,显著改善 DAS28、HAQ 评分和部分功能参数,但不改变 IL-6 水平。然而,两种冷冻疗法的疗效无差异。